Everything's Coming Up Roses
by xCaligula
Summary: Sequel to Make Em Laugh and Being in Love. Dan and Laurie announce their engagement, and begin planning their wedding. Eddie thinks that now might be a good time to tell Laurie the truth, and with Sally coming into town to help with the preparations, they finally have a chance to discuss things.
1. Starting here, starting now

Dan and Laurie were getting married.

It wasn't really a surprise, Eddie supposed. The two had grown very close over the past year, and it made sense that they would want to make it official. They had been living together since they had begun dating- at first, Laurie had said she would try to look for her own place, but at some point, she stopped looking and Dan never complained. It was obvious that they were inseparable, so it was obvious that he was going to propose eventually.

And things were going well for the two of them. Dan had finished his degree and wrote for a living and Laurie had finally gotten the acceptance letter she had been hoping for for so long. With so many good things happening to them, getting married was practically part of the celebration. It wasn't something he could say he hadn't seen coming, but just like the beginning of their relationship, it was a strange thing for him to watch happen.

When a girl got engaged, the man used to ask the father for her hand in marriage. Maybe that wasn't common anymore- Eddie really wouldn't know- but once upon a time, the father would know well in advance, and he would be a part of the arrangements and get to know what was happening as it happened. But even if things were still the way they had been, it wouldn't matter, because Laurie still had absolutely no idea that Eddie was her father.

It had been a year of her tolerating his presence, a year of her going from absolutely despising him to begrudgingly accepting that he was a part of her group of friends whether she liked it or not. He had been friends with Dan before any of this had started, and Walter was Dan's closest friend and therefore one of hers, and it had also been a year since Eddie and Walter had found themselves in bed together and decided to see where things went from there.

Things went, from their first date to the time they let their relationship be known to Dan and Laurie, to everything after that. At some point along the line, after about a week of being strangely distant, Walter plucked up the nerve to ask if they were actually a couple, and Eddie could have laughed about how nervous Walter was if he hadn't been wondering the same thing and had never gotten the courage himself.

So they finally admitted to each other that they were "official", whatever that meant and as if they really needed to say it. Since they had begun seeing each other, they spent as much time together as they could and it got to the point where neither had to ask; they just knew that, if they were both free, they would end up together. It was a while before Walter was comfortable enough in the relationship to be intimate again, but Eddie couldn't say he minded.

Being with another man was still something he knew next to nothing about, and it took him a while to even get over his embarrassment about needing to seek out information on it, much less actually learn something. But once the younger man was ready, he knew a thing or two and was able to make their first time sober (or almost sober, in his case) very, very nice.

After a few months, when it became clear that this was something that, as unbelievable as it seemed, was going to last, Eddie began to consider the living situation. Walter worked hard and often just to afford the small apartment he lived in, while Eddie didn't struggle much at all and lived fairly comfortably. If Dan and Laurie were doing fine living together after moving in so soon, surely a couple that took time to get to know each other first would do fine as well.

At first, Walter wasn't sure about moving in with him, but wouldn't say why. It took a lot of prodding to find out that he was afraid of taking advantage of the relationship, which Eddie had a good laugh at before insisting that that wasn't the case and that it would be better for both of them if they lived together. Eddie also insisted on covering most of the living expenses since he had always been able to do it before, but Walter took on a few bills and was able to cut down to only one job.

Things were going well for them too, even if the relationship had been an unusual step for the both of them. Neither of them were particularly good at the whole 'domestic' thing, but they made it work and Eddie was the happiest he could ever remember being, like everything was finally working out in his favor.

Then Laurie announced that she and Dan were engaged and he was forced to remember his fling with Sally, the first time he had thought he loved someone and lost them, and the daughter that he had always wanted but could never really have. She was getting married and he would be lucky if he was even invited to the wedding, but it was the father's job to give the daughter away, and he wanted to do that more than anything. It was the last thing he could do for her as a father.

He would be seeing Sally again, he was sure. She would be around for the wedding and if he were invited, he would have to see her then. And if he were going to be seeing Sally anyway, maybe he would have a chance to finally talk to her about all of this and about potentially letting the secret out. But before any of that happened, he knew he had to finally explain to Walter how complicated the situation was and what might be happening in the future.

"A lotta this is gonna sound really weird, so I just need ya to stay with me until the end," he said. Walter nodded, allowing him to go on. "A long time ago, you asked me why I was nice to Laurie even though she never kept it a secret that she couldn't stand me. I said it was cos she reminded me of her mother, said there were things she didn't know about the past. It's...more complicated than that.

"There was more between me an' her mom than what she's told everyone. We...had a thing for a little while, but she was married to someone. She got pregnant an' we both knew the baby was mine, but she tried to stay in her marriage instead. I never got to know her and only saw her once when she was a baby, but Laurie's...my daughter."

Walter didn't respond, but his eyes widened just a bit. He looked like he was trying to keep a straight face, and Eddie continued, "Sorry I never said anything before. It's not somethin' that's easy to talk about it and it sounds pretty damn unbelievable. And I wanted to be able to tell her before I told anyone else, but with how things are going, I think I'm gonna have to talk to her mother about this soon. I didn't wanna start talkin' with her again without you knowin' why. I'm sorry that you're just now findin' out about it."

Finally, he replied, "It makes sense. Wasn't any of my business and you told me now. She does resemble you, now that you mention it."

He hadn't expected Walter to blow up at him or have a huge response of any sort, given how soft spoken he was, but he was glad that he was taking it so well despite it being a pretty big bomb to be dropped. The younger man was taking it so well, in fact, that Eddie didn't even feel weird asking about what to do.

"I want to give her away at the wedding, but even if I told her the truth, she'd still probably hate me," he said. "It's a hell of a lot to take in and there's no tellin' if she'd ever get used to the idea, much less in time for the wedding. But I still feel like I should tell her, and I guess I'd have to ask Sally about that first. I'm sure she doesn't wanna hear from me, but...I dunno. Just not sure what to do."

"If you think you need to tell Laurie, you should tell her and if you think you should ask her mother first, you should ask her," replied Walter simply. He sounded almost disinterested. "It's not something I can give a good opinion on."

Eddie sighed but gave a smile anyway. He should have known that Walter wouldn't be able to give him much advice, but there wasn't anyone he could ask without also telling them first, and he wasn't going to tell anyone else before he told Laurie. He supposed he would have to think on it more himself.


	2. We can do it, Mama is gonna see to it!

"Do we really have to invite him?"

"Laurie, you know we do. All the time we spend with him? How awful would it be if we didn't?"

"I know, I know," said Laurie with a sigh. "I know that he's your friend and that I've put up with him just fine for the past year, and maybe he's not the absolute worst, but that doesn't make me want him at my wedding any more. It's supposed to be a happy day, and all."

"I don't have that many friends, and I was hoping to have him as one of my groomsmen," Dan replied. "And he's with Walter. How can we invite one and not the other? That would be petty."

She groaned in frustration, but he didn't seem willing to back down on this one and if she didn't tell him her real reasoning, he wouldn't. After all, she almost got along with Eddie these days; Dan was justified in thinking it was petty of her to decide not to invite Eddie to the wedding after that. But she didn't tell him what was really on her mind and instead said, "Fine, you win. But I don't have to like it."

"Can you try to play nice?" he asked with a teasing smile.

"Only if I have to," she replied with a laugh.

But it was not herself that she was worried about, not when she knew that her mother was going to be in the same room as a man she had a very bad past with. Laurie hadn't forgiven him for what had happened, and she had not even been born yet when it did. She worried about how her mother would feel, knowing that Laurie was almost the man's friend and that they were close enough that he would be at the wedding, a part of the groom's party.

The only thing she could do, she knew, was let her mother know about it ahead of time, to give her a chance to come to terms with it before she had to face him again. Talking to Sally was not one of Laurie's favorite activities, and this call was not one she was excited to make, but she knew that putting it off would not solve her problem and so she dialed her mother's number. Sally lived in California now, and the time difference made it hard to find a good time to talk, so she had to do it while she could.

"Laurie? What's got you calling?" asked Sally, sounding pleased to hear from her. She almost felt guilty about delivering bad news.

"I wanted to talk to you about the wedding," she said. "I mean...look, this isn't easy to say, but when I met Dan, he introduced me to some of his friends and...one of them is someone you know."

"Oh? Who?" She sounded interested, as if she did not suspect a thing.

"Eddie Blake," said Laurie, and took a deep breath. "I know he's one of the last people you'd want to hear about, but I didn't know Dan knew him before he introduced us. I only put up with him because they're friends, but he's going to...he's going to be at the wedding."

Sally was silent for only a moment before she said, "So, why are you telling me this?"

"Are you kidding? Because I thought it would bother you, having to see him again." Laurie huffed. "He's going to be a goddamn groomsman, I thought you'd want to be prepared, at least."

"Oh, Laurie." Sally sighed and then laughed. "It's like you don't know I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. What happened between me and Eddie Blake happened a very long time ago. So what if I happen to bump into him somewhere? I really don't care about any of that old stuff."

"You're not just bumping into him! He's in the wedding. You'd be seeing a lot of him if you were around for all the planning."

"Who do you have doing the planning, by the way?" she asked, changing the subject.

"I...don't know, I haven't thought about it," she said, already not liking the direction that this was taking. "But, mother-"

"But nothing. If you want a bigger reaction out of me, then tough, because you're not getting one." Sally sounded almost defensive and Laurie regretted pushing her. She should have been happy that her mother wasn't bothered, rather than trying to push her until she was. "Though I am curious how you ended up friends with Eddie, of all people, I really couldn't care less about the fact that you are friends."

" _We_ aren't friends. I can't stand the guy, not knowing what he's like," said Laurie. "But Dan knows him well, goes to some comedy club. Eddie always has a routine on amateur night. Almost every week, me, Dan, and one of his other friends would go to it, and that's how we met."

"So he's a comedian now," she said, a hint of amusement in her voice. "He always did think he was hilarious, and sometimes he was right about that. Suits him."

"He's not a real comedian. By day, he's a store manager." Laurie snorted, rolling her eyes even though her mother couldn't see that.

"You never did give me a full answer about who you have planning the wedding," Sally chided. "You're not planning to do the whole thing by yourself, are you?"

"I really don't know. It's cheaper that way, isn't it? And it can't be too hard. It's just a really big party, when you think about it."

The gasp on the other end of the phone sounded positively scandalized. "Laurie! It's a lot more than just some party, you know. It's supposed to be the most important day of your life...if you're getting married, you've got to do it right. I can understand not wanting to hire some stranger to plan it for you, but you can't honestly expect to be able to do it on your own."

"Mother-"

"Mother nothing. I've been married before myself and I know how this sort of thing goes. I'm just going to have to come visit you a little early and help you get things underway." Sally sounded so proud of herself and so sure of herself that, though Laurie tried to talk her out of it, she wouldn't have it. She was coming to New York to plan the wedding, whether Laurie liked it or not.

Suddenly, her mother having to see Eddie Blake again felt like the least of her concerns.


	3. We got nothing to hit but the heights!

Of all the men in the world for her daughter to happen to meet and become friends with, the fact that it was Eddie Blake astounded Sally. Throughout Laurie's life, she had debated whether or not she would reveal the identity of her father to her, but when Laurie found out what Eddie had tried to do to her, she didn't know if she would ever be able to tell her. How could anyone understand why she had been with him after that?

But now Laurie was all grown up and getting married to someone who was friends with her own father, and she still had no idea. Her father, who would be a groomsman at the wedding that Sally would be a part of. It had been years since she had seen him, and she still felt somewhat guilty for breaking things off so suddenly, without much of an explanation. All for a marriage she hadn't even really wanted to save.

She wasn't sure how she would feel, seeing him again after so long, and she knew that he would probably want to talk about things. There was no way he hadn't figured out who Laurie was, not if Laurie knew who he was. It was likely that he'd been thinking about telling Laurie ever since they met, and she appreciated that he hadn't yet, but if he'd thought about it, she knew he would ask her.

What was she going to do about this? Was it really time to tell Laurie, after all she had done to avoid it? She had begun to hope that she could keep it secret forever, but that wasn't fair to Laurie, and it wasn't fair to Eddie, especially now that he was already a part of their daughter's life. When she made it to New York, she would have to get in touch with him before she began helping Laurie with the wedding plans.

And while she was there, she knew she had to visit some other people from her past. It had been much too long since she had seen Bill or Byron or Hollis, and she missed them all quite a bit. They had been such good friends over the years and so supportive during the divorce, and she hoped that Laurie would want them at the wedding. They would be so happy to be there for that.

~X~

Dan was glad when Walter agreed to his best man. It wasn't really that he thought that his best friend would say no, but there were times when he wondered if Walter would choose then to be mad at him. Because he realized now what he had not realized in the past, and that was that he had been too distant when he and Laurie had begun to get closer.

It hadn't been intentional, but it had happened and when he looked back at how he had behaved, it was obvious. So many times he had left with Laurie or not been able to return a call because he was busy with her, and though it was true that a lot of that came during the confusion of helping her move out after breaking up with Jon, that wasn't much of an excuse. The fact that he had been completely taken by surprise by Walter's relationship with Eddie was proof that he hadn't been paying enough attention to his friend and hadn't been very present in his life.

He'd tried, since then, to redeem himself for that, offering to listen if Walter ever needed to talk about his relationship- he hadn't, yet- and spending time with him one on one again. There had never been a formal apology, because he didn't want to call further attention to what he had done, but so often he found himself worried that Walter would decide to let him know how mad he had actually been and ditch Dan for something, just as had been done to him.

So he had been just a little bit paranoid that Walter wouldn't want to be his best man, both out of a sense of petty revenge and because his relationship with Laurie had been the source of those problems. Why would he want to support it any further? But he clearly didn't think that way and seemed more than willing to take up that role.

Laurie didn't have many close friends, but she had met some women through her job she'd gotten after moving in with Dan, and they all liked each other well enough so they would be her bridesmaids. Dan would try to see if she was unhappy because she didn't have a "best friend" and her maid of honor was the woman she'd worked with the longest, but when he asked her, she laughed and said that he was the only best friend she needed.

~X~

Hollis wasn't sure who he was expecting when the doorbell rang, but it certainly wasn't Sally Jupiter. She hadn't called him in a few weeks and he hadn't heard anything about her coming to town, so she wasn't even on his mind when he opened the door and saw her standing there, beaming at him. Despite looking a bit older than the last time he had seen her, she was still so breathtakingly beautiful that it was hard not to gawk at her, just as it always had been.

"Well, would you look who it is!" he said, grinning at her once he had gotten over his surprise. She flashed him a smile that made his chest ache, even after all these years. He wondered if he would ever get over the silly crush he'd always had on her.

"Hello, Hollis," she said warmly. "Sorry I didn't call before, but I thought I'd drop by and surprise you."

He gestured for her to come in while he said, "What brings you all the way out here?"

"Well, it's good news," she replied. "Laurie's met someone and they're going to get married."

"Little Laurie?" he asked in surprise. "She's getting married?"

"She's not so little anymore, you know. I've come in to help her with planning," Sally said. "I'm sure you'll be invited to the wedding, but I wanted to come see you before all of that. Really, it's been too long since we've seen each other, and I was hoping we could see more of each other while I was in town."

"Absolutely!" he said, just a bit too eagerly, and he mentally scolded himself for behaving like a lovesick schoolboy. He should know by now not to get so excited by everything Sally said to him.

"And maybe we could get the whole gang back together," she continued. "I haven't seen Bill or Byron in just as long. I'd like for all of us to meet up and talk. We all must have so much to catch up on!"

"I don't know about that," he said with a chuckle. "I haven't been up to much of anything and I'm not sure if either of them are doing much more."

"Are they still living together?"  
"I think so," he said. "Byron does better with Bill around."

"That's good," she said, and they settled in to talk a bit. She told him more about Laurie's fiance, who sounded like a good kid to Hollis and he looked forward to meeting him. In turn, he told her about how he was considering retiring for good, though he didn't think he could ever stop fixing cars for good.

"Even if I stopped running the shop, I'll always be a mechanic at heart," he said. "I'll just get to do it for fun now."

She didn't stay long, because she revealed she had only just made it into town and needed to get home to Laurie, but the little time they spent together was nice and he looked forward to getting to see her again.


	4. You've got nothing to do but relax

Eddie wasn't expecting the call from Sally, but he was glad he got it because it gave him a chance to get into touch with her without having to go through Laurie. He knew that wouldn't have gone over well, but the only way to if telling Laurie the truth was a possibility was to speak to her mother. So when he answered the phone and heard a familiar voice say, "Eddie Blake? This is Sally," he was glad.

"Haven't heard from you in a while, Sal," he said, sitting back down on the couch next to Walter, phone in hand. "Hoped I might get a chance to talk to ya though."

"So you probably know what I'm going to talk about then," she replied. "Laurie warned me that she knew you. She was afraid I'd be uncomfortable being around you, since you're such good friends with Dan and will be at the wedding."

"Well, will ya?"

"You know I'm better than that," she said with a snort. "But I have to admit, I was surprised to hear you of all people were one of her fiance's closest friends. How did something like that happen?"

"Hell if I know," he replied. "I met Dan before they started seein' each other, an' I was just as surprised as anyone when he introduced her to me. Barely recognized her, she'd grown up so much."

"I think there are some things we need to discuss in person," she said. "I was wondering if you'd like to meet up with me."

"Sure thing. When works for ya? I know some places we could go." He put an arm around Walter absentmindedly, but the younger man did not relax into him and he started to wonder what was up, but then Sally answered him and he was distracted.

"I should be able to get away tomorrow, any time. Whenever you get off work is good with me."

They set up a time to meet, deciding to go for the park so that there would be plenty of people around to cover them in the very unlikely event that Laurie happened to be nearby. When he hung up, he turned to Walter and said, "That was Sally, if ya couldn't tell." Walter nodded and he continued, "I'm gonna be seeing her soon so we can discuss things. I think she's worried about the same thing I am."

"That's good, right?"

"If she wants the same thing I do, it is. I'm sure ya heard me mention it to her, but I'll be home a little late tomorrow. We're talkin' right after I get off work," said Eddie. "Want me to pick up dinner on the way home?"

Walter only gave a small nod.

~X~

Sally had aged but she was still easy to spot in the crowd and he had to fight the way his heart tried to leap into his throat when he saw her. There wasn't anything there for her, not anymore, but old habits were said to die hard, and she would always be beautiful. He waved at her as he approached her and she smiled.

"How's life been treating you lately?" she asked. "Laurie mentioned you're in management..."

"Bet when ya saw me ringin' up groceries when Laurie was a baby, ya never thought I'd actually move up in the company," he said with a chuckle. "It's not a glamorous job or anything, but it pays a lot better than you'd expect. I'm doin' pretty good for myself."

"She also mentioned you're a comedian now," she added.

"Not professionally, but it's fun."

"That's how you met Dan, right?" Now she was getting onto the real topic at hand.

"And how I met Laurie," he replied.

"How much have you told her about us?" asked Sally, not doing a very good job of disguising how nervous she was.

"Not a thing, Sal," he said. "I brushed it off whenever I could. It wasn't exactly easy, with her only knowin' me for the bad things, but I never told her anything. Not even that you ever forgave me."

"You could have told her anything, at any time, so why didn't you? I mean, not that I don't appreciate it, but..."

"It's not my place," he said. "I mean, it is, but it isn't, not without you. If I'm gonna tell Laurie, I want you to want her to know, and I want her to hear it from both of us. That's the only way to do it."

"And you do want to tell her," said Sally, and it wasn't a question.

"I do. My daughter's gettin' married, and I'd like to be able to give her away, if I could," he confessed. "And, if anything, I think we gotta be honest with her. You've kept her in the dark long enough and she has a right to know."

"I know she does," she said. "I know, but it's been hard...things got complicated. I always meant to tell her but...I never could. Can you give me some time to think this over?"

"As long as ya promise to actually think about it," he replied. Even this was good news to him, though. The fact that Sally hadn't shut him down, the fact that she knew Laurie deserved to know too, meant that he was one step closer.

"I will. I'll give you a call soon, alright? We might need to talk a few more times before I can really decide anything, but either way, I'll be in touch with you soon. I won't keep you anymore today, though. I'm sure you're ready to get home after working all day," she said, a devious smile forming. "Is there anyone you're ready to get home to? Have you been seeing anyone?"

Sally had always liked that sort of idle gossip and he doubted the question had anything to do with a personal interest in him. "Uh, yeah, actually."

"Oh, really?" She raised an eyebrow, her devious smile becoming positively wicked. "So, what's she like? And how'd you get her to put up with you?"

He laughed a nervous, good-natured laugh and did not bother to correct her. "Oh, you know, they're nice. Kinda quiet, but that's alright, I talk too much anyway. Though I can't answer the second question."

Sally laughed in return and made no comment on his use of the word "they", and he still did not correct her in assuming he was with a woman. He knew that he should, that it wasn't fair to Walter to keep the nature of their relationship a secret, especially when he was so open about it otherwise, but he just couldn't bring himself to admit any of it to Sally. There was nothing between them, and he knew that, but he still had history with her and that history made him reluctant to admit the truth.

They said their goodbyes and he made his way home, trying to swallow the guilty feeling that had set in. He would have to tell Sally eventually, and he would have to tell her before she had a chance to find out on her own, but even knowing that, he still wasn't sure how or when he would be able to tell her.

Even for the rest of the day, he couldn't shake his guilt, and conversation between him and Walter lagged. When asked how it went, he was vague, saying only that he thought things were going to work out one way or another.


	5. You can do it, all you need is a hand

The next time Sally stopped by, it wasn't a surprise. She had called Hollis ahead of time to see if he was busy, and of course, he wasn't, and even if he was, he probably would have tried to make time for her anyway. That was just how things were with Sally, even if he knew he was much too old to be thinking of her like he used to, like some love struck teenager.

There was something off about her as soon as he let her in, even though she smiled and greeted him as if nothing were wrong. Her eyes looked troubled, and he could tell straight away that there was, in fact, something wrong, and that that was the real reason behind her visit. He had her sit down, offered her a drink that she did not decline, and she made small talk with him for a few minutes before she finally got down to business.

"You know I'm in town because Laurie's getting married," she said. "And it's a happy occasion for everyone involved, but there's someone who wants to be more involved, and I'm not sure how to handle that."

"And who might that be?" he asked.

"Her father."

"I thought you and Larry didn't talk anymore," he said, confused. Sally laughed.

"You really thought he was her real father?" she asked. "I thought it was pretty obvious that they looked nothing alike, and you had to think there was a reason for our marriage falling apart so horribly."

Hollis didn't mention that he had never understood why she had married the man in the first place. "You had an affair?" he asked, as if she had not already made it very obvious that she had.

"I did," she replied, "and the father knows her and he wants to be a part of things."

"Well, who is he? How does he know her?"

"He's one of the groomsmen," she said, and Hollis stared at her, not sure how to respond to that or what any of this really meant. "I know it sounds complicated and, believe me, it is. But apparently, one of Laurie's fiance's friends turned out to be her father, if you'd believe it! She has no idea and he hasn't told her yet, but he's been asking me about what to do and I honestly don't know..."

"That does sound...difficult," he said, but difficult did not begin to cover it. How had Sally found herself in such a complicated mess? "So, I'm assuming he wants to be there both as a friend of the groom's and as her father."

"Exactly. And I've put off telling her for so long that I'm not sure how to, or if I even can."

"First things first, what's he like? How would Laurie feel about him specifically being her father?"

"She'd hate it," said Sally simply, and then she paused, looking conflicted. Finally, she added, "It's Eddie Blake. He's her father."

For a moment, everything seemed to freeze as Hollis processed exactly what Sally had said to him. Eddie Blake was a bad man, Eddie Blake had done something unforgivable to her, and Eddie Blake was the absolute last person he ever would have thought Sally would get involved with, but now she was confessing that she had, and that Laurie had been the result of that. Little Laurie, who Hollis had loved like a niece and wished he could love like a daughter, was Eddie's, and when he put two and two together like that, he was horrified to realize that he could see it. She had a familiar look when she was angry that he had never been able to place before, and she had to get that dark hair from somewhere.

"Say something, at least," she said after a moment of silence. "Do you think I'm horrible? Because I can explain, at least a little bit, and it really isn't as bad it sounds."

"No, I don't think you're horrible," he said, and he didn't. No matter what he thought of Eddie and what he thought of them together, he could never think less of Sally, not for anything. "I just don't understand. I mean...why him?"

"Things were terrible with Larry, and I was lonely, and I ran into Eddie one night," she said. "He was nice to me, nothing like he used to be, and he seemed intent on making it up to me, and then making me feel better when he found out how miserable I was. After a while, it only made sense that we were sleeping together, but when I got pregnant, I got scared, and I cut things off with him. I never got the courage to tell Laurie, and it only got harder as time went on...now, it's practically impossible!"

"I don't really know what to say to that," he said. "I mean, about telling her. It's hard to give advice for a situation like this, but..." He couldn't forget just how much he didn't like Eddie, no matter how he tried to remove any sort of bias. "But I don't know if it's something Laurie needs to know right now. I mean, with her wedding coming up, wouldn't it just put more stress on her? Would she even want him there if she knew?"

"She barely wants him there now," Sally replied, "but it's unfair to the both of them that I keep lying to her."

And of course he knew that she had a point, and that Eddie was still Laurie's father and that she did still have a right to know. "You have to go with your own judgment on this," he said at last. "I'm happy to help in whatever way I can, and you can talk to me about anything, but I'm not sure I can give you a good answer about something like this."

They talked a bit more after that, but when Sally left, he knew that she was not feeling much better. It was his fault, not just because he couldn't advise her, but because Laurie had learned things about Eddie from him, and those things were part of what made it so hard for Sally to tell her. He hadn't known that Laurie was listening in the night that he and Bill and Byron and Sally had been looking at old pictures, hadn't known that she had heard him make a remark about how they should cut him out of it.

Sally had laughed it off and told him not to be ridiculous, and Bill had asked her why she was so casual after what he had done to her. Byron followed up by asking her why she even had photos with him in it, and she got rather defensive, saying that all of her college friends were in the photos and she wouldn't throw them about because of one person, and she wasn't petty enough to cut up a perfectly good photo over that. None of them wanted to argue with her after that, but they all wanted to tell her that there would be nothing petty about that.

~X~

" _Uncle Hollis ?" Laurie was fifteen when she finally confronted him about it, when she finally revealed what she had overheard._

" _What is it?" he asked.  
"Who's Eddie?"_

" _What?" He hoped he had misheard her, but he was sure that he hadn't. "Where'd you hear that name?"_

" _A few years ago, I heard you and mom and the guys talking, and you kept talking about some Eddie Blake," she said. "You talked about something horrible that he did to my mom, and I don't know how to ask her about him. I'm not really sure if I should."_

" _I don't think that would be a good idea," he agreed. "What happened with him...well, it's complicated. I'm not sure if it's something you're even old enough to hear about and-"_

" _I'm not a little kid anymore," she snapped. "I can handle it, whatever it is, and it's not like I'm gonna tell my mom you told me. But if you don't, I'm going to have to ask her about it, you know."_

 _He couldn't have Laurie confronting Sally about that, he couldn't let her unknowingly drag up such painful memories, but he knew that it wasn't his place to tell her about what had happened. It was a difficult decision, but in the end, he caved under Laurie's demanding gaze and told her the story as best he could._


	6. Clear the decks! Clear the tracks!

The next time Sally called him, Eddie was watching TV with Walter. They had both been busy lately, and it was getting more rare that they got to spend time like this together, so he wanted to capitalize on whatever time he got, and he had his arm around the younger man when the phone rang.

Walter rarely got calls, and always handed the phone to Eddie instead of answering it, and Eddie took the phone from him this time. "Hello?"

"It's me again, Eddie."

He brightened; she didn't sound angry with him or anything like that, so maybe she was calling with good news. "Well, hey, Sal," he said.

"I've been thinking a lot about things," she replied. "And, look, don't get your hopes up because I haven't reached a decision yet, but I just thought I should talk to you a little more about stuff."

He was glad that she was talking to him on the phone and that she could not see the way his face fell. "Well, that's fine," he said. "Gotta take your time, I know. So, what have ya been thinkin' so far?"

"I went to visit Hollis Mason. I didn't really know of anyone else I could talk to about it, so I hope you don't mind that I told him the details." Of course, it did bother Eddie a bit, because he knew that Hollis didn't like him in the slightest and that Hollis would advise against it, but he also felt just a little bit smug because he knew the other man had always had a crush on Sally back then, and now he knew just how close she and Eddie had once been.

"So, what'd he have to say?"

"Well, he hates you, of course," she said, "but what else is new? And he doesn't think Laurie would react too well to it, but he also tried to look at it from another perspective, and all he really had to say was that I should do what I think is best."

"Cos he didn't want to outright tell ya he thinks I don't deserve to be anywhere near her," said Eddie.

"Yeah, pretty much. But you have to admire that he at least tried not to let his opinion show too much," she said with a snort. "He's nicer about it than a lot of people would be, anyway, even if he couldn't offer me any real insight."

"He's gonna say whatever he thinks will make you happy," he replied, "and this situation is a little too tricky for that."

"He's always been like that. You remember how he was back in college, of course."

"'Course I do, guy was too nice for his own good, at least where you were concerned," he said with a chuckle.

"And then there was Bill, who too nice for his own good with everyone," she said.

"Tell me about it! Used to think that guy had to be damn near perfect, couldn't figure out what sorta dark secret he had to be hidin'. You still talk to him?"

"Mhmm. Him and Byron both, sometimes, and I'm still not sure what his dark secrets are myself, but I have my suspicions."

"Oh, yeah? What are those?"

'Wouldn't you like to know? Sorry, but I think I'll hold onto that until I have a little more confirmation," she teased.  
"You're killin' me with suspense!" he said and when she laughed, he laughed along with her. It was nice to talk about old times like this, to actually talk like the friends they once were and could have been, had everything not gone so horribly wrong. When they talked about the good times, it was almost easy to forget that it was his fault it had all gone wrong for him in the first place.

They continued to talk about this for a while, reminiscing while she told him a little bit more about what the guys were up to these days, and at some point he realized that Walter had left the room without him noticing. He tried to commit what he had wanted to tell him to memory, hoping that the younger man would get a kick out of the story he'd remembered.

But it was as if Sally could read his mind, and knew exactly the person he was looking for, because she said, "So when are you going to tell me more about this mystery girl you're seeing?"

"I dunno," he said, a bit more casually than he felt. Still, he had not corrected her in her assumptions.

"You afraid I'll be jealous or something?" she asked, and he could tell that she was joking, at least. "Or are you afraid she'll be jealous of me?"

"Nothing like that," he said quickly. "I mean, I'm sure they won't...have anything to worry about. No offense there, but we're pretty close."

"Why, Eddie, I'm surprised. Never had you pegged for the hopeless romantic type!" she teased. "She must be pretty special, to get you all lovey dovey like that. Now I _know_ we have to meet."

"Maybe someday," he replied. "With the wedding comin' up an' all, I'm sure you'll be meeting pretty soon."

"I can hardly wait." She paused, and her tone grew more serious. "Eddie, she really is a lucky girl. I know things didn't work out between us but...I can tell that you really care, and we just weren't a good fit. You seem like you are a good fit for her, so I hope things work out for you two."

He needed to tell her. He needed to stop hesitating, stop thinking about it, and just tell her. There was no excuse to not correct her, no excuse to keep it a secret, especially not when she would be meeting Walter soon enough, and he wasn't ashamed of his relationship anyway. But then Sally said that she needed to hang up and he let her, and once again, he let the chance slip away and kept the truth of his relationship a secret.

Sighing, he put the phone down and leaned back into the couch, wondering what he was going to do about this. He would have to bring it up to her the next time they met up, but the issue with Laurie took a lot of their focus, and it was a bit more prominent, all things considered, but even thinking something like that made him feel guilty. She was his daughter, but he and Walter were a lot closer than he and Laurie, and he was a damn shitty boyfriend, being so dishonest. It was all too much on his plate at once, but he would have to sort through it all whether he wanted to or not.


	7. I can tell, wait and see

"I cannot believe my mother," said Laurie.

"Huh?" Dan looked up as she entered the room. "What's she been up to? I thought she'd been pretty agreeable since coming to stay with us."

"She has been!" she declared. "And that's what's so unbelievable. She's always on my case about _something_. It doesn't make any sense that she's barely seen me since coming here and she's only harped on me...like, six times!"

"I can't see how that's a bad thing," he replied with a chuckle. "Shouldn't you be glad she's got something else to occupy her?"

"Yeah, I guess it's nice that she isn't bugging me all the time but think about it! What could she possibly have going on?" she asked.

"She has friends here, doesn't she?"

"I guess...but it's been such a long time, I don't even think she's really close with any of them anymore." Laurie shook her head. "I just can't make sense of it. What, or who, is keeping her so busy?"

"You don't think she's dating someone, do you? Is that what you're worried about?"

"I..." She paused, her expression growing very troubled. "I don't know. It doesn't seem possible, I mean...she doesn't know many people here anymore, just her old friends. I don't know how she would have found a new boyfriend by now, especially since she hasn't dated anyone in years."

"Then she probably isn't," he replied, "and you're just worrying for nothing." He smiled, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "You've got enough to stress about right now anyway, don't worry about whatever your mom's up to. Especially not when she's actually leaving you alone for once."

She responded by giving him a real kiss before saying, "Thanks. I know I shouldn't worry so much but...it's just one of those things, you know? I'm worried because she _isn't_ being annoying. It's such a blessing it has to be a curse."

"She could just be out shopping all the time or something," he said.

"She has a hard time shopping without buying out the whole store, and I haven't noticed her bringing home a half-dozen bags," she replied.

"Then maybe she's trying to surprise you with something? Maybe she's out planning the wedding without you."

"She's not so good at surprises. She likes taking credit for things too much, so I think she'd have broken down and told me by now. I just don't know...nothing I can think of seems right, but there's no reason for her to be out by herself so much unless she isn't by herself."

Dan nodded, and tried to think of anything that might ease Laurie's mind, but he didn't have a good answer for what Sally was doing. He hadn't even noticed her absence, but now that Laurie mentioned it, it did seem odd, and he could understand why she was so perplexed. "I really have no idea," he finally said.

"You don't think she's..." She trailed off, biting her lip. "I mean, it's ridiculous and all, but what if...what if she's been seeing Eddie? I mean..."

"You're right about that being ridiculous, at least. You know they don't have the most positive relationship. Do you really think your mom would go after someone like him, even now?" he asked. "And anyway, I don't think she'd even have a chance if she wanted to. He and Walter still seem to be doing fine, and I just can't see him betraying Walter like that."

"Yeah," she said, and she looked relieved. "He's not that much of a scumbag. At least, I don't think he is."

"I'm sure he isn't. I don't think you have anything to worry about where Eddie's concerned, and I'm sure whatever your mom's up to, it isn't anything _too_ scandalous."

For the time being, Laurie seemed to be calmed down, and Dan really did believe that they had nothing to worry about. But that only lasted for a few hours, and then he got a phone call from none other than Walter.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, already able to tell that there was something off in his friend's voice.

Walter paused. "You said before if I ever needed to talk about my...relationship that you would talk."

"Yeah?" A sense of dread washed over Dan. "Is something wrong with Eddie?"

"I don't know. Probably not." His voice was stiff; talking about this sort of thing did not come easy to him. "He's just been...occupied. With somebody."

"You think he's cheating?"

"No..." Another long pause. "He has a reason to be talking to her. Laurie's mother. But I still feel..."

"What's his reason?"

"Can't tell you. It's personal. But it's a good reason, I just feel...off about everything. When they talk on the phone about the past, he sounds so happy."

Though he wasn't saying much, Dan got the gist of what he meant. He was a little jealous of the way Eddie talked to Sally, even if he believed the man had a good reason to do it. Normally, Dan wouldn't hesitate to tell him that there was nothing to worry about, but with the conversation he had had with Laurie on his mind, he wasn't sure at all. Eddie _had_ been seeing Sally, and even if Walter said it was for a good reason, it wasn't a reason he knew, and that made it hard to judge the situation.

"But you don't have any reason to suspect he's cheating?" he asked at last.

"No," replied Walter. "Nothing like that. Just don't know how to handle my own jealousy, wanted to talk to you about it. I know I'm being stupid."

"You're not being stupid. But if you don't think he's cheating and you know he has a good reason to talk to her, then I don't think there's anything more going on between them. I don't think you need to worry so much about it." Even as he said it, he didn't know if he believed it.

"Sorry for bothering you."

"Hey, hey, it's no bother. Like I said before, you can talk to me any time you need to, even if it's just to talk. Is that all you wanted to talk about now?" he asked.

"Yeah," replied Walter, and then said his goodbyes and hung up.

When Dan was left alone with his thoughts, he tried to process all that he had heard that day. Laurie turned out to be right in her assumption that Sally was spending her time with Eddie, but according to Walter, there had a been a good reason for that and nothing to indicate anything romantic was going on there. He didn't know what to think about that, or if he could even tell Laurie about it. Walter probably wouldn't want him to, and if it wasn't anything to worry about, then it really was Sally's business if she told Laurie or not.

For now, he supposed he would keep it to himself, but he would be keeping a closer eye out for how everyone behaved after learning this. He hoped that his suspicions were just paranoia and that Walter and Laurie really had nothing to worry about.


	8. Gonna have the whole world on the plate!

Sally was pleased to finally have the chance to get her old friends together. Hollis had Bill and Byron over so that the four of them could talk about things, and it was nice to see that they were in good health, particularly Byron. There had been a period of his life where he had struggled with addiction, and he owed most of his success in getting out of that to support from Bill. He was happier and healthier when they were together, and so they had been sharing a home for a while. Sally wondered when they planned on telling everyone they were a couple, or if they even knew it themselves yet.

Whatever the case, the group got to talking about college, just like they always did; after all, that was where the group had formed and when they had been the closest. Bill started to recount some memory, trailing off when he got to a point of the story that included Eddie. "So then me and Hollis and...and...well, I don't remember who else was there, but..."

"Oh, bullshit," she said with a snort. "You know damn well that was when we were still hanging out with Eddie Blake. Everyone does. You guys always try to pretend like he never existed, like you think you can just make me forget him or something."

"It's nothing like that, Sal," said Bill, looking apologetic.

"Yeah...it's just, you know, after everything..." Byron started, not looking sure of how to finish his sentence. "Well, we just don't want to...you know, upset you? Or anything like that..."

"I'm not a baby, I can handle talking about the past," she replied with an eye roll. "You guys really don't know anything about it. There's nothing to worry about with me, I got over that a long time ago."

Hollis looked uncomfortable, being the only one in the room who knew exactly how much she had gotten over it, but he had the decency not to say anything with Bill and Byron both looked surprised to see how casually she was talking about this. It really did annoy her, the way they always danced around the subject as if they thought she would burst into tears if they so much as mentioned Eddie. Yeah, he had done something shitty and something that no one would blame her for never getting over, but she had and they didn't understand how she felt at all.

"I'm really sorry," said Byron, sounding very sincere. "I guess we don't really understand anything..."

She sighed. "It's alright, I know you boys didn't mean any harm by it. You just don't know the whole picture, is all."

"Maybe if you told us about the whole picture it might make things a little bit easier on us," Bill said. "If you don't mind telling us, at least..."

Sally paused for a moment, considering it. If they really wanted to know, what was she keeping it from them for? In the past, it'd been due to shame, but it was the past and she had nothing to be ashamed of anymore, and it would at least get them to stop treating her like she was so goddamn delicate.

"He and I used to fuck," she finally said, much too casually, and both of them gaped at her. Hollis, the poor dear, did not do a good job of disguising that he already knew about this. "When I was still married to Larry, I ran into Eddie, and one thing lead to another. You all know how miserable I was then, and that was one of the only things that cheered me up. The guy changed and I accepted that, and every now and then, we met up for a little fun."

There was a long silence before Bill finally broke it. "So, he...changed, then? And you didn't mind being with him?"

"Of course I didn't mind. Why else would I have done it? Look, if you guys are gonna come to Laurie's wedding, you need to get used to thinking about him. He's going to be one of the groomsmen."

"How'd that happen?" he asked, and Byron nodded, curious.

"He's friends with her fiance," she replied, "but he might end up taking a more active role in the wedding, depending on what I decide and how Laurie takes it."

"Sally," said Hollis in a warning tone, just as Byron asked, "What do you mean by that?"

She smirked as she said, "Well, because he's Laurie's father." The looks on their faces were absolutely priceless and she couldn't help but laugh. "We might finally be telling her about it soon."

"Sal," Hollis said, "what are you doing? Do you really want to tell them all about everything?"

"I don't see why not," she said. "Might very well become public knowledge soon anyway. So what if my close friends know a little bit early."

"But do you want them to know before you tell Laurie? You keep going around telling everyone, but you haven't even decided if you're going to tell your own daughter yet," he said. "Whether you're going to tell her or not, it isn't really fair that so many other people know first."

She sighed, because she knew that he was right even though she hadn't realized that that was what she was doing. But it was as she realized that that she also realized she had stopped thinking about whether or not she was going to tell Laurie, and had started to operate as if she was going to and was just putting it off. She wanted Laurie to know the truth, and she wanted to let Eddie have his chance, and she understood that now.

"I know," she said at last. "I'm going to tell her soon, I think. I need to stop putting this off. She deserves to know and it isn't really my secret to keep anymore. Thanks for helping me decide about this."

"Oh, well I didn't...I didn't really do all that much," said Hollis, but he was beaming. She couldn't help but be charmed by the way he tried to play modest and by the way his feelings were always so obvious. Lately, she was finding that she couldn't help but be charmed by a lot of things that Hollis did, and she wondered why she had never noticed these things before.

"You've been very supportive through all of this," she replied, "and that means you've done more than enough." There was more she wanted to say to him, but she wasn't sure how exactly to say it or even if it was something she needed to say, and this really wasn't the time or place. Especially considering the fact that she had a very confused Bill and Byron to deal with now.


	9. That lucky star I talk about is due!

Laurie knew that she needed to settle on a venue for the wedding, because it was getting closer and closer, and she and Dan still had no idea where they would have it. They sat down to discuss it, but it was hard to come up with a good place that would also be affordable and that would work well for the both of them.

"We can't have a church wedding," she said. "I haven't been to church since I was seven, and your family's Jewish."

"We've gotta find somewhere completely neutral," he agreed. "A church wedding definitely wouldn't work. What about something outside? We could go somewhere in the park."

"And what about when it starts raining?" she asked. "Or when a million bees keep swarming my bouquet and it ruins the day? Outside is way too unpredictable. We've gotta do it somewhere indoors."

"Yeah, I didn't even think about any of that..." Dan paused, thinking about it, before he said, "What about the club? I mean, if they'd let us rent it. We do have a lot of memories there."

"I don't know...do you really think we'd be able to rent a place like that? I mean, I don't know how stuff like that works."

"We could always ask. I just thought it might work, since that was kind of our first date, and we always spend so much time there. If you don't think it's a good idea, I can try to come up with something else," he said.

"No, it's not that," she replied. "I do think it's a good idea, a really good idea. I just didn't know if it would work or not, but I guess you're right. I'll see if I can find a number to call about it."

~X~

Laurie talked it over with Sally, who agreed that it would be a good venue, and she made a call to see about renting. The owner spoke with her and said that he would be glad to let them rent for a wedding, going on to say that he was delighted that someone had enough positive memories in his club that they would want to be married there. They set up a time to meet and discuss things, and she and Sally drove over there together.

When they arrived, a handsome, blonde man was waiting for them. It was the early afternoon, so there was no one else there and they had the place to themselves.

"Hello," said the man. "You must be Laurie Juspeczyk. My name is Adrian Veidt, and I own this club as well as several others." He had an incredibly charming smile, and he shook her hand before turning his attention to Sally. "And you are?"

"Her mother," she replied. "And if this is the part where you make a remark about how I look much more like her older sister, I'll gladly take that compliment." It was all Laurie could do not to groan in embarrassment, but Adrian let out a good-natured laugh.

"Let's look around the place and see how you might like to set it up," he said, and they all agreed that the stage would be the best place to hold the actual ceremony. They could set up steps at the center of it so that the aisle could still go in the middle of the seats, and when the ceremony was over, the chairs could be moved and tables brought out. He explained how they set up for that quickly and efficiently, but Laurie was only half-listening to that part, since she would be in a dress and doing exactly none of the heavy lifting.

"I think it all sounds perfect," she said at last. "So, you think it'd be okay for me to book for that day?"

"Absolutely. We don't really do this sort of thing often, so the day you have in mind is completely available," he said. "Would you like to book the day before to do a rehearsal dinner? It'll have to be more of a rehearsal lunch because I need the club back for that night, but..."

"Oh, yeah, that's fine." They went on to discuss price and payment for rental, and then it was time for them to leave.

"It was a pleasure meeting you and doing business with you," said Adrian.

Sally laughed and said, "Believe me, the pleasure's all mine." She winked, and this time, Laurie couldn't help but groan. When they were alone in the car, she had to say something about it.

"I can't believe you just did that!" she said.

"Did what?"

"Oh, don't play dumb, mother. The way you flirted with that Adrian guy in there!" She shook her head. "He's way too young for you and it's weird!"

"Oh, please," said Sally, rolling her eyes. "You really think I was being serious with any of that? He's cute, but of _course_ he's too young for me, not that my relationships are any of your business. And besides, he nowhere near my type."

Laurie huffed, unknowingly mimicking Sally's eye roll. "Is that right? So, you were just flirting with him for the hell of it, then?"

"You bet!"

"Oh my god, mother! Have a little public decency!" she cried. "Besides, if he's not your type, then what exactly is?"

"Like I already said, my relationships aren't any of your business, but if you're _really_ so curious..." Sally paused in thought. "Honestly, my type has changed a lot over time. What I thought I liked before doesn't interest me at all now, and things I never thought I'd like...well, let's just say it's been there all along, and I just didn't notice what I really wanted before." By the end of her statement, she had a faraway look in her eyes, as if she had forgotten that she was even having this conversation with Laurie at all, as if she were off with someone else.

~X~

"Doesn't that sound weird?" she asked. "I mean, who else could she be talking about? I told her she would have to get used to seeing Eddie again, and now she's talking like she's got a thing for someone she used to know!"

Dan looked concerned, more so than he had the last time she had brought this up, which only further convinced Laurie that she was right about this. "I don't know..." he said. "I mean, what reason would she have to want to be with him now, of all times?"

"Because he's changed," she replied, looking reluctant to even admit it. "I mean, he had to have changed since back then. I know I can't stand the guy, but the Eddie I know...it's hard even for me to see him doing something like that, and you know Walter wouldn't fall for a guy like that. He has to be different, and maybe mom likes the way he is now. Maybe she's been meeting with him secretly and she wants him!"

"I really don't know, I mean, doesn't that sound a little crazy? He wouldn't just start meeting up with her, not when he has Walter at home...I don't think...it just doesn't make any sense," he said. "I still think you're worrying for nothing."

But this time, Dan was not convincing in the slightest.


	10. They think that we're through

It had been a long time since Eddie and Dan had talked one-on-one, and he was surprised when Dan showed up at his house one day, especially considering Walter was at work and he was sure that Dan knew that. But when he told Dan this, the other man only said, "I know," before letting himself in. That was when Eddie realized that Dan seemed a little bit upset, and wondered what the hell was going on.

"What's goin' on?" he asked. "You're actin' weird, is something wrong?" For a moment, he worried that it was something to do with Laurie, but he couldn't imagine what.

"I don't know," replied Dan. "I honestly don't know what to think, but if something _is_ wrong, you're the one to know about it."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Eddie was more than a little confused, and Dan wasn't making a bit of sense. He looked almost angry now, and if there was something Eddie had done to cause that, he was not aware of it.

"I know you've been seeing Laurie's mother," Dan said at last. "And I swear, if there's something going on that-"

"Dan, slow the fuck down for a minute, okay? What the fuck are you talkin' about? How did you know about Sally?" Had Sally told Laurie that she was visiting with him? Did Laurie already know? If so, then why didn't Dan? None of this made a bit of sense to him.

"Walter told me," he said, glaring. "What, did you think you could just flaunt it in his face and it wouldn't bother him? Honestly, I thought you were better than something like that. I just can't _believe_ you would hurt him like this!"

"Wait, wait, I really have absolutely _no idea_ what the _fuck_ you're tryin' to say!" snapped Eddie, starting to get angry. "What did Walter tell you? Does he think something's going on between me an' Sal?"

"Walter only told me that the two of you have been 'talking' a lot lately. He _said_ you had a good reason for it, but he wouldn't tell me what, and he also said he didn't have reason to suspect anything, but that it still made him jealous," he said. "I was already a little concerned from that, but I hoped he was just worrying for nothing, like he thought he was. I didn't want to think something like that about you, not when you hadn't ever given me any reason to."

"He told you he was jealous?" It didn't seem like Walter to be jealous, but it also didn't seem like him to have such a touchy-feely conversation with Dan either, which meant that, if he was jealous, it was serious, and Eddie hadn't even noticed. He felt terrible, but if Walter had said there was no reason to suspect anything, why did Dan still not seem convinced?

"He did. And now I see why he would be."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Laurie told me some things about her mother that made me a little more concerned," he said. "The other day, Sally said something to her that made her think she was seeing you in secret." He repeated what Laurie had told him, shaking his head in disappointment. "Really, Eddie, how could you? Ignore the fact that it's Sally, of all people, and that the wedding is coming up and everyone has to spend so much time together. How could you do something like that to Walter? I really thought you cared about him, and I just can't believe you would do something like that to him."

He was stunned by what Sally had apparently said, and he wondered if she had really been talking about him when she said it. It seemed unlikely, all things considered, but what if she had? It wouldn't change anything, and he knew it. They had had something special in the past, but it was the past, and he wouldn't want to be with her again, or anyone but Walter. He had to tell her the truth about the relationship before he could talk to her about anything else.

"I'm not doing anything to him," he said. "Listen, Dan...I don't know why Sally said that, but I don't think she meant it about me, and even if she did, she's never said anythin' like that to me. We have been talking, and I haven't kept it a secret from Walter cos there was no reason to. It's not an affair, or we're not seein' each other. I wouldn't ever do something like that, I swear."

He must have sounded sincere, because Dan's expression faltered. "You're really not?" he asked. "I want to believe that you're not, but things...look pretty bad."

"From your perspective, yeah, I can see how they might," replied Eddie. "But I swear to Christ, there is nothing going on between me an' Sally. Ya gotta believe me, I wouldn't do that to Walter."

Dan paused, looking conflicted. "I want to believe you. I never wanted to even suspect you of this. You've always been a good friend, so...I'll trust you, but if I hear _anything_ , or see anything, that makes me think you were lying, you'll regret it. I won't let you hurt my best friend."

"Ya got my full permission to kick my ass if I ever do anything like that," he said. "I don't ever wanna do something to hurt him."

"I'm going to hold you to that promise," said Dan, offering him a smile. "Listen, I...I told Laurie she didn't have anything to worry about and that I didn't think there was anything going on, so...I've done what I can to keep her from worrying about it. She doesn't even know you've been talking with Sally. Just so you know."

"I really appreciate that." He wondered if Dan was ever going to know the reason he even needed to talk to Sally so much.

~X~

When Sally called him next, he knew that this was it, and he had to tell her the truth about Walter once and for all. But he also thought it was something better dealt with in person, and though that meant he would be putting it off a little longer, he wouldn't put it off anymore after the next time he saw her.

"I'm ready to tell Laurie," she said, completely taking his mind off of his own problem.

"What?" he asked. "R-really? You're serious?"

"I am," she replied. "I've done a lot of thinking, and I know that it's not something we can just keep from her anymore. Are you sure you're ready to tell her?"

"I've been ready to tell her since the day I met her," he said. "Thank you so much, Sal. Thank you really takin' it into consideration."

"When do you want to go tell her?"

Before he let himself get carried away, he reminded himself of what he wanted to talk to her about. "Before we do that, there's somethin' else I need to talk to ya about. In person, though. We need to meet up before we tell her, alright?"


	11. I had a dream, a dream about you, baby

"Walter, can I talk to ya for a minute?" asked Eddie, as soon as Walter got through the door, and immediately, the younger man was more worried than he should be. He knew that he wasn't trusting Eddie enough that he spent so much time worrying about their relationship, but Eddie looked so serious and things had been so weird lately that he was sure, in that moment, that they were about to break up.

But if it was coming, there was nothing he could do to avoid it, and all he said was, "Okay," before going to sit with Eddie on the couch.

"Please don't get mad at Dan for this," he said, "but he talked to me. He was a little bit worried because of some stuff you'd told him and cos Laurie was wonderin' where her mom was all the time, so he came to talk to me."

Walter knew he shouldn't have gone to Dan about something so serious! He felt his face burn in humiliation, regretting ever talking about his suspicions. Now Eddie knew about it, and would probably give him shit for going behind his back, at the very least. "Yeah," he mumbled. "Sorry."

"No, no, I'm sorry," he said, which was surprising. He didn't even sound a little bit annoyed about this, and even gave Walter a gentle smile. "I'm sorry I ever gave ya any reason to think something like that, alright?"

"I shouldn't have..."

"It's alright, I understand why you were worried, and I shoulda noticed how I was actin' before it got out of hand. I want to set everything straight between us once and for all, okay?" Walter nodded, and Eddie continued, "Me an' Sal had something in the past, but that ended a long time ago. It's gonna stay in the past, and I promise that there's nothin' going on between us anymore.

"I care about you, and nobody else. She's a good friend an' all, but I don't care about her like that and I would never risk what I got with you over something like that. Once this wedding's over, I won't be seein' much of her at all," he finished.

Walter was silent for a moment; he had always known that Eddie wasn't cheating on him, but relationships did not come easy to him and it was difficult to work through something like this on his own. "Thank you," he mumbled, when he finally managed to respond. It wasn't much, but Eddie knew what he meant, at the very least.

"Everything's gonna go sort of back to normal soon," he said, and then a large grin broke out over his face. "'Cept a few things are gonna be weird, cos Sally finally agreed, and we're gonna tell Laurie. She's finally gonna know the truth about all of this."

Walter had never been quite sure how he felt about that situation, but Eddie looked so happy that he couldn't help but be happy for him. Things were going to get even more weird between him and Laurie, though.

~X~

Hollis wasn't surprised when he opened the door and saw Sally, even though he hadn't been expecting her. He wasn't sure who else would show up unannounced, and when he heard the knock, he had assumed that it would be her. She gave him that gorgeous smile, and then she stepped through the door, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

It had been a long time since anyone had kissed him before, and it took him a moment to relax into it, but once he did, he reached behind her to close the door and kissed her back to the best of his ability. There had been many times when he had fantasized about something like this, but he never thought he would ever get the chance in real life, never thought that she would be the one initiating it.

She kissed him for a very, very long time, and when she finally pulled back, he was breathless while she grinned at him. He didn't know what to say to her or how to respond to what she had done. Sally was waiting for a response, though, and he tried to come up with one.

"So, what brought that on?" he finally asked, more than a bit lamely.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I finally figured a few things out about myself," she replied. "And one of those things is that I want to be with you. If you don't think it's too late for something like that, that is."

Sally wanted to be with him. Sally Juspeczyk, after all these years, wanted to be with him, the one thing he had always wanted from her but had long ago accepted that he would never get. Now, out of nowhere, she was throwing herself at him, and he was stunned, but he didn't understand why she was doing it.

"Are you serious about this?" he asked, a bit reluctantly. "I mean, why now? I've been here all along, so why now?"

"I know, I know, I took my sweet time on this one," she said, "but I really have thought about this and this is what I want. After all these years and after a marriage like I had, I feel like I deserve a wonderful guy by now. Of course, that wonderful guy had been there all along, hasn't he?" She laughed. "Hollis, I'm sorry it took me so long to notice, but you're exactly the kind of man I want to be with."

There was nothing in her words to suggest that she was being insincere, and even if she was, he could only resist so much after wanting her for so long. Maybe they were too old to start this and maybe they weren't; if it was too late, that didn't really matter to him, not as long as she was there. After all these years, he really was in no position to turn the woman of his dreams down.

"What about Eddie?" he finally asked.

"What about him? He and I have a daughter together, yes, but I promise, we're nothing but friends. You're the one I want to be with."

"Sally, you know I've been crazy about you since we met," he said. "I know it had to have been obvious."

"Only a little," she replied.

"If you wanna be with me, you really don't even have to ask," he said. "You know I want to be with me." Sally's response was kissing him again, and this time, it lasted quite a bit longer.


	12. Nothing's gonna stop us

"So," said Sally, "what was it that you wanted to talk to me about? Is it something with Laurie?"

"No, nothin' like that," replied Eddie, trying to calm his nerves, knowing that it was stupid to be nervous over something like this.

"Then why was it so important you had to tell me before we told Laurie about you?" She raised a brow.

"I didn't _have_ to for us to tell Laurie, but it's somethin' I shoulda told you a while back, and I just kept puttin' it off, an' I really can't keep doing that," he said. "Ya know the person I'm seeing?"

"Oh, god, who is she?" she asked, assuming it was going to be something much more awful than it was.

"That's the thing. See, I never...corrected ya, when you assumed...I mean...there is no she, alright?" He was blushing, and he hoped to god that she didn't notice. "His name is Walter, he's one of Dan's friends."

Sally paused as she processed what he had just said, eyes widening in disbelief. "So, what you're saying," she said at last, "is that this mystery woman is, in fact, a man."

"Yeah, that's, uh. That's about it."

She snickered and shook her head. "This isn't one of your jokes, is it?"

"Damn it, Sal, does it look like I'm joking?"

"No, no, I'm sorry," she said, but she was still snickering. "It's just a big surprise, is all. After everything between us, I'm finding it kind of hard to believe you turned out to be gay."

"I'm...not," he mumbled. "Trust me, baby, the door swings both ways...and I was just as surprised to find out myself. But I'm still just as into women as before, not that it matters anymore. I think I found something at least semi-permanent, so I don't think I'm gonna be goin' after anyone new, man or woman."

"Now, _that_ is something I can relate to you on," she said. "I think I've found someone at least semi-permanent too. Me and Hollis are trying it out, seeing where things go, if you'd believe it. To think, he finally got his way after all these years."

Eddie was a bit surprised to hear that, having never expected Hollis to make a move on her or for her to reciprocate. Once upon a time, he would have been incredibly jealous and would have been outraged to think about the two of them together, but that feeling didn't surface now. He was even a little bit happy, knowing that Sally had found someone she could be happy with.

"Well, congratulations," he said with a genuine smile.

"Same to you," she replied. "Sorry I laughed. Like I said, it's just a big surprise coming from someone like you, but if you're happy with this Walter guy, then that's great. You deserve that, you know."

"Shame it couldn't work out between us, huh?" His smile faded into a playful grin and she snorted.

"Yeah, I guess it is, but you know we were doomed from the start."

"Maybe, but we sure did make a pretty kid."

"Speaking of which," said Sally, "don't you think it's about time we go pay her a visit? I know you've been dying to tell her, so how about we get it over with?"

It was the moment Eddie had been waiting for, ever since he had first seen her with Dan, every time she had mouthed off to him, when she had finally started to warm up to him a little. All he had wanted was for Laurie to know that he was her father, and now he was to tell her. He was more than a little nervous, but that was to be expected, considering how big this was. As they made their way to where she and Dan lived together, he tried to tell himself that no matter what happened, everything would be fine, though he knew that there was a very big potential for disaster.

But there was no backing out now, not when he had wanted it so much and not with her wedding on the horizon. He would face whatever reaction she had if it meant that there were no more secrets, and if she hated him even more, so be it. She had every right to know and he wanted her to know, so even though he was growing terrified, he didn't hesitate to knock on her door.

Laurie was the one to open it, looking surprised to see him, and then angry when she noticed her mother. "What the hell?!" she shouted, already assuming the worst, and Eddie couldn't blame her, all things considered.

"What is it?" asked Dan, coming to the door with her. He looked confused as well, though there wasn't anger in his eyes, only a bit of accusation. "Eddie, what are you doing here? And, Sally, I didn't even know you'd gone out."

"What are you doing bringing him here, mother?" asked Laurie, glaring. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Why don't we let them in so they can explain this to us?" asked her fiance, and she begrudgingly stepped back, granting them entrance to their home.

"We have some things we need to talk about," said Sally, "so I think we should all sit down for a bit."

"I don't think that will be necessary," her daughter replied, and Eddie wasn't sure where she got the stubbornness from. She looked so much like both of them in that moment that it made a hell of a lot more sense why he and Sally never would have been able to make it work. "Why don't you two just tell me whatever it is you felt the need to tell me _together_ , and then _he_ can get the hell out of my house!"

"Laurie, it's something very important," Sally said, trying to keep her voice even. "Something we needed to tell you together."  
"Oh my god, I cannot believe this!" she cried. "I knew it! I knew the other day, when you were talking about guys who were your type! I knew that meant you and Eddie were seeing each other, but Christ, I didn't want to believe it. I mean, really, mother? Of everyone in the world, you chose _him_?"

"Well, you're wrong about that part, Laurie," she said with a laugh. "I wasn't talking about Eddie when I said that. I was actually talking about Hollis. You remember him, don't you? He and I are seeing each other, not me and Eddie."

That threw Laurie quite a bit. "You and Hollis? I mean...that's...I'm happy for you, but that doesn't add up. I mean, why do you have Eddie here if you two aren't together?"

"Kind of related to that, now that you mention it. See, what we came here to tell you is that Eddie's your real father."

For all her positive attributes, Eddie had to admit that Sally was not the best at delivering news.


	13. Set it spinning!

"He's...my...what?" Laurie's eyes widened until she was sure that they couldn't anymore, and she could hear her heart beating in her ears. Had she heard her mother incorrectly? Was this just some kind of joke? There was just no way that Sally could show up with Eddie, unannounced, and casually say that he was her father. It didn't make sense, none of it did.

"Maybe we should-" Eddie started.

"You shut up!" she shrieked, cutting him off before turning back to Sally. "Mother, tell me what the fuck you're talking about!"

"Exactly what it sounds like, dear." She sighed, realizing that she needed to take this more seriously. "Listen, I know this is a lot to take in at once, but I was being serious. You know things with my ex-husband weren't always good, and you must have suspected a few times that you weren't really his. Well, I...I ran into Eddie once, when things were really bad."

"So, your first response was to _fuck him_?!" Now Laurie was nearly hysterical, and she didn't know what she was supposed to do or say, how she was supposed to process this information that changed everything. Dan stepped closer to her and laid a hand on her arm, but when she looked at him, he looked pretty thrown himself.

"It's a little more complicated than _that_ , Laurie." Sally looked a little bit annoyed, but it served her right for dumping this all on Laurie _now_ , after years. "You know what it's like to be lonely, I'm sure, and Eddie and I talked for a long time before anything really happened between us. He was an old friend, and he offered me comfort when I needed it."

"An old friend? You don't need me to remind you what he did!"

"No, I really don't, I get enough reminders from everyone else, which is why I kept all of this a secret for so long! But he'd changed. You've seen the way he is now, and he isn't a bad man. He wasn't then, either, and he was sorry, and I liked him. It was years ago, and I'm sorry that you're just now finding out, but that's just the way it is," she said, with a tone of finality.

With nothing more to say to Sally, with no way to figure out how to get back at her for this, Laurie turned to Eddie with rage in her eyes. "How could you?!" she shrieked. "You knew all this time, and how could you...how could you do that to her?" She didn't know when she'd started crying, but when she began beating her fists on his chest, her vision was blurred with tears.

"You can't be...you just can't be my father! I hate you, you know? I never...I never wanted to meet you or be your friend and I never wanted you to be my real father!" She was in hysterics, but she just kept hitting him and expecting him to fight back or react in some way, but Eddie just stood there and took it, and when she looked into his eyes, he only looked sad.

That was when she collapsed into his chest and just sobbed, all of this information way too much for her to handle. She didn't really know _what_ she felt; it was true that she had hated him once, it was true that she didn't want him to be her father, and it was true that she hadn't wanted him to be her friend, but when she thought about him alongside Sally's ex-husband and the man she had been led to believe was her father for her entire life, Eddie didn't seem so bad, and that only confused her further.

"I'm sorry," he said, wrapping his arms around her shaking shoulders. "I'm real sorry about all of this, an' I'm sorry I couldn't be the sort of father you deserved. I...I'm sorry I had to keep it from you too, but your mother...I didn't want to tell ya if she didn't want me to."

"You've known me for so long," she said, voice breaking, "and you never said anything, just cos of mom?"

"I know you hate me, but I wouldn't do anything she didn't want," he replied. "Even if it was somethin' I really, really wanted." _Why_ did he have to not be a complete piece of shit, on top of everything else? She couldn't even really hate him, not the way he was now, but she wanted to even more simply because of that.

She felt someone else join in the hug; Sally looked a little teary eyed herself, wrapping her arms around the both of them. "You have no idea how hard it was to keep it from you, but it wasn't even harder to tell you, and I know I put it off too long," she said. "But I couldn't...I didn't want you to think less of me, and I suppose delaying it for that reason only backfired."

"No, I don't..." Laurie took a deep breath. "I don't think any less of you. I guess I sort of understand it all, even if it's hard, but...holy shit, this is a lot to take in." They stood there like that for a while, and she cried a bit more, just to get it all out once and for. Neither of her parents- and already, she thought of them as _her_ parents- said a thing, and neither of them moved, and she felt really bad for Dan, who had to just be awkwardly watching them.

"Look, I forgive both of you," she finally said, once she was completely calm. "And this doesn't really change much, you know? I mean, I'm an adult now, so it's not like it changes my home life. And I do forgive you, really, but that doesn't mean I like Eddie. Even a little bit."

He laughed, and she realized, to add insult to injury, they shared the same sense of humor. "Not even enough to let me give you away at the wedding?"

That came as a little bit of a surprise to Laurie, but she knew that it should have been expected, all things considered. And it would have given her some satisfaction to tell him no, but she thought about how petty that would be and she thought about the fact that she didn't have anyone to give her away anyway, and she considered it before she gave him her answer. It would make him happy, and it would be easier than trying to find somebody else to do it, and it would probably make Sally happy as well.

"Well, you are my dad, aren't you?" she said at last. "It would only make sense for you to do that."

Eddie looked so pleased that she couldn't help but smile back, even if all of this was still way too weird for her to handle. She knew that, with time, she would adjust to this, and it would soon be a little easier to process, and she had to admit that it was nice to finally know the truth. But then she remembered one night when she had been so lonely, and so drunk, that she had briefly tried coming onto Eddie and she suppressed a groan. Her own father, and he had known the whole time! No wonder he hadn't welcomed her advances in the slightest. She didn't know if she'd ever get over the embarrassment from that one.


	14. Curtains up! Light the lights!

From that point on, everyone had a lot of adjusting to do. Dan apologized to Eddie for accusing him of having an affair with Sally, saying that he understood now why he couldn't be upfront about his reason for seeing her just yet, and Laurie soon began to probe Sally for information about her relationship with Hollis. When Laurie found out that Walter had known about it for a while, she teased him, asking him what it was like to know that she was basically her father-in-law, and he blushed and stammered before Eddie came to his rescue.

But even as they took the time to really talk things over, the wedding date was growing closer, and Sally and Laurie were soon busy with planning. Before they knew it, the rehearsal dinner was upon them and they all went to the club to prepare for the next day, let in by a blonde man Eddie had heard about a lot, but never actually met in person.

He always said to himself that, should he ever meet Mr. Veidt, he'd either punch him for the stupid club name or ask him when the paychecks started, or both, but he didn't, much too occupied with his daughter's wedding. In fact, he barely paid attention to the man, who insisted everyone could call him Adrian, because that afternoon, he would actually get to see what it would be like to give her away.

He wasn't really giving her away just yet, but even so, just practicing it felt real and it was enough to make him get just a little choked up, though he didn't let anyone notice that. Sally looked a little emotional herself as they ran through the motions, and Eddie would have said something to her if he weren't so busy trying not to let on that he was close to tears himself.

The whole afternoon was an emotional event, even though they were only figuring out how timing would work and where everyone would stand. Dan looked at Laurie with so much love that Eddie was reminded of the way he used to look at her when she wasn't looking, back before she'd ever considered dating him. They'd come a long way, and no matter how much his fatherly instinct told him not to let any man near her, Eddie was still just as convinced that Dan was her best prospect.

After he walked her down the aisle, he had to go stand with the rest of the groom's men, taking his place next to Walter. He'd been properly introduced to Sally when they'd arrived, and she'd made a few remarks about how he'd tied Eddie down and that if Eddie gave him any trouble, she'd set him straight, and Walter, despite looking incredibly uncomfortable, made it through the introduction alright.

When they'd run through things enough, they were all ready to go out to lunch together, but before they left, Dan said, "Hey, you know, since we're here and all...how about you do one of your routines, Eddie?"

"Huh?" He chuckled. "And why do ya think I should do that?"

"Well," replied Dan, "Me and Laurie and Walter have heard you, but nobody else has. Before we leave, you should at least give them a sample."

"I have been pretty curious," added Adrian. "You're one of the most popular acts here, and you aren't even one of the ones I hired myself."

"Well, maybe you just don't know what the people want," he said with a smirk.

The other man flinched. "Well, why don't you show me, then?"

He didn't have any new material prepared, and it felt weird performing during the day, without the lighting of the stage and with a small group of people, but as he ran through the last routine he'd done, he fell into the easy rhythm of it. Stage fright would never be something that would come easy to him, and even though Dan and Laurie and Walter had heard it before, they all seemed to find it just as funny as before. Lately, Laurie hadn't been forcing herself not to laugh at his jokes, and though that was a very small difference, it meant the world to him.

By the time he was done, he had managed to make nearly everyone in the small group laugh, and had even seen Adrian give into it a few time. Hopping off the stage, he was approached by the man once more.

"I'll admit, that was better than I expected from an amateur." The urge to punch him returned in full force, but Eddie managed to maintain his self-control. "Maybe when this wedding business is over, you and I can discuss a real contract."

So, after all this time, he really might start to get paid for the nights he spent entertaining the patrons of Shots and Giggles. He grinned and replied, "Sounds good, but ya gotta make sure I still get Thursdays, alright?"

"I think that can be arranged."

~X~

That night, Eddie had trouble sleeping. The next day would be hectic, and it would be one of the happiest days of his daughter's life, and he would really get to be a part of it, as her father and not as an outsider. She would never be comfortable with him like she would have been had he been able to raise her, but that was okay. What they had now was more than enough for him, and he was just happy to be able to be a part of things.

But that was not the only thing on his mind that night. At some point during the day, his thoughts about the wedding and about how great it was that Dan and Laurie were getting married had shifted, and he'd begun to reevaluate his own love life, and he wondered why he hadn't considered marriage for himself yet. He didn't know what Walter would even say if he brought it up, but he suddenly wanted to ask very much.

It would have to wait, both until the excitement from this marriage had worn off and until Eddie had a good plan for asking, and during that time he could give it some serious thought. He doubted he would find any reason not to want to, but he also knew that it wasn't something that could be done on impulse and he had to make sure that it was not something that would make Walter uncomfortable. It wouldn't change much, considering they already lived together, but it was the meaning behind it that he wanted; saying that this was permanent to him, and that he wanted everyone to know that it was permanent.

He hoped that, someday soon, he'd be able to propose to Walter.


	15. Everything's coming up roses

It was her wedding day. Once, Laurie had wondered if she'd ever even have one, and wondered, if she did, would it be such a good thing? She had once had such a bad impression of marriage, just from her mother's experiences, that she had been sure that, no matter how she ended up, she would be doomed to be unhappy in her relationships as well. Being with Jon had only furthered that belief, but then she'd found Dan, and now she was sure that she'd be happy for the rest of her life.

Or, at least, she would be once the wedding got underway. For now, she was nothing but stressed and more than a little annoyed at how stressed Sally was, which was really the main source of her stress. Everything was going perfectly, yet her mother was still running about as if a disaster could occur at any moment. Sally was acting like it was _her_ wedding that was on the line, but that didn't keep her from stopping any time Hollis was nearby helping, just so that she could chat with him. Laurie wondered if, perhaps, it _would_ be Sally's wedding soon.

And that was another thing that made her happy. Not only had she found Dan to change her opinion of things, but it seemed that her mother had finally found someone right for her. Everything was working out for everybody, it seemed, and so Laurie just wished they could get to the main event quickly before she strangled her mother and ruined the mood.

Normally, in a situation like this, she would complain to Dan about it, but she wasn't allowed to see him because it was "bad luck". It wasn't until they had her hair done, her dress on, her make up complete, and every other little visual touch out of the way that she was even free to move about. For a moment, she considered venting to Hollis, since he wasn't off-limits, but then she saw him sneaking off with Sally and realized that he would be a bit too preoccupied and more than a little biased.

That was when Eddie came in, stopping in his tracks when he saw her in her wedding dress. She had to, at least a little bit, admire the fact that he had kept things a secret for so long, seeing the way he looked at her now that it wasn't a secret. While she was having trouble adjusting to the idea of him being her father, he had known for so long and clearly loved her so much, and had managed to keep it in. Now, he looked so proud of her that she wondered how he had managed that for so long.

Walking over to him, she said, "How are things with Dan?"

"He's nervous as all hell, but everything's goin' alright," replied Eddie. "How about on your front?"

"Great, but you wouldn't know it based on how mom's acting," she said, rolling her eyes, and Eddie laughed.

"She just wants everything to be perfect for ya."

"I know, but she's even more unbearable than usual!"

Snorting, he said, "Your mother can be high strung, but she _does_ mean well."

She paused for a moment before she said. "You and mom...did you...you know, love her?"

He looked taken aback by her question, and she wasn't even sure why she asked. She had been curious for a while, but things were so hectic and here she was starting a heart-to-heart with Eddie. Finally, he said, "I cared about Sally a lot, yeah. She's still one of the few people I ever got that close to, and she's still really important to me, but if you're askin' if I still love her..."

"No, no, I know that, I was just...wondering," she finished lamely, not making eye contact with him. They would never be able to be so close that they could just talk about anything, but they were making progress, and any progress was better than none. And really, he had been a part of her group of friends for so long that it would be too weird if their relationship changed that drastically.

~X~

Finally, after what felt like the morning in history, it was time for the ceremony. Hanging back with Eddie, Laurie watched as the rest of the procession went in, and then it was their turn, and she hooked arms with him. To think that, a year ago, she was glaring at him across a table in the very same building, trying not to lash out at him to avoid making Dan uncomfortable, and now she had almost accepted him as her father, at least enough to allow him to be the one to give her away.

Arm in arm, they walked down the aisle, and that was when she noticed that Eddie was close to tears. She wasn't really sure how she felt about that and wasn't sure how to react to seeing a man like that cry, especially over her, but her attention was stolen soon anyway as she got a good look at Dan. He looked back at her in a way she had always dreamed of being looked at, a way she thought she would _only_ see in her dreams, but this was real, and when she saw that he was near tears as well, she felt her own spring up and really understood what they meant by "happiest day of your life."

Standing up at the altar with him, she knew that being with him was the best decision she had ever made and she was so glad that she had run into him that day. Had she not been with Dan, she wondered if any of this would have happened. Would she have ever met Eddie and would her parents have finally told her the truth? Would Sally have ever decided to give Hollis a chance? What would her life be like without Eddie or Walter in it, and what would it be like without Dan? She was glad that she would never have to find out.

She looked out at the crowd for a moment, to see Sally and Hollis hand in hand, both beaming like proud parents, and she vowed to get closer to Hollis now that he was going to be a permanent part of her life. Bill and Byron were there too, and she had never seen them sitting that close before, and she wondered if there were yet another couple springing up right under her nose. Finally, she looked over to the groomsmen, where Eddie now stood with Walter, and noticed that their hands were brushing but that their eyes were focused only on the bride and groom.

Turning back to Dan, it was time for to recite their vows, and before she knew it, they were giving each other their rings and then her husband was pulling her in for a kiss.

~X~

"I still can't believe you decided to hyphenate," said Hollis at the reception. She'd decided to give him a dance as well, because if Eddie were a part of her family, than Hollis definitely was. She'd given Eddie the father of the bride dance, and he'd done his best to hide the fact that he was close to tears again, but he didn't do a very good job of that. Now, he was off with Walter while Sally had nabbed Dan for a dance.

"Both of our names are difficult as hell," she replied, "so why not make it a little bit more complicated?" And that was exactly what they had done; not only had she taken his last name, but he had taken hers, and now they shared the last name of Juspeczyk-Dreiberg.

"Well, I think it made your mother happy," he said. "But she's just been really proud of you in general lately."

Laurie smiled in spite of herself, touched to know that Sally was proud of where she had ended up. And really, with vet school on the horizon and her marriage just beginning, it really did feel like her life was finally starting. "What about you?" she asked, to change the subject. "Do you think you'll be making an honest woman out of her any time soon?"

Hollis blushed, surprised by the question.

"Well, I don't know about that, I mean...we only just began seeing each other, and that step is a long way off, but...who knows? If she's up for a second marriage, maybe someday," he said with a grin. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

When their dance came to an end, everyone kept switching off partners. Laurie got a dance with Walter, of all people, while Eddie got one with Sally, and when Eddie cornered Dan, demanding a dance and laughing all the while, she went with Sally, laughing over their antics. By the time everyone returned to who they were supposed to be with, Laurie couldn't stop grinning, and Dan matched her expression.

"Having fun?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I think I'll be having more now that I've got you back," she replied. "Did you have fun out there?"

"I did, but..." He paused before saying, "When Eddie got me for a dance, it was actually because he wanted to talk to me about something. He's planning on proposing to Walter, and wanted to see what I thought about it."

"Yeah? What'd you say?"

"I told him that it was up to him, but that I'd be happy about it, and that I thought Walter would want that too," he replied. "Can you believe it, though?"

"I know, it's weird," she said. "I mean, they've been together almost as long as we have, but I don't think I've ever heard either of them even refer to the other as a boyfriend. I guess them getting married was bound to happen eventually, but still...weird."

"Oh, that wasn't even what I was talking about," said Dan. "I meant that Walter would be your stepdad."

"Oh my god!" Her eyes widened; she'd thought about it a little bit when Eddie's status as her father had been revealed, but she hadn't really processed it until now. Shuddering, she said, "Yeah, okay, that's really fucking weird. Let's not talk about it, I wanna be happy for them if they get married and that's gonna put a wrench in that."

"Then let's just be happy for us for now," he said, "and not think about them at all."

"Yeah, I think that sounds nice," she replied, leaning in close as the two of them danced.


End file.
